Payment periods and notices

After filing your patent application you will receive an acknowledgement of receipt with your file number. The DPMA does not send out any invoices or further fee notifications.

Please make sure that the application fee is received at the DPMA within three months after the date of filing. Otherwise the application is deemed to be withdrawn by operation of law (Sec. 6(2) Patent Costs Act [Patentkostengesetz]).

At the beginning of the third year you have to pay annual fees to maintain protection of your patent; you will not receive an invitation to pay the fees. The first annual fee is due on the last day of the month in which the respective term of protection ends (that means two years after filing the application). Then, you have two months to pay the due fee without surcharge and a further four months to pay the fee with a surcharge for late payment of 50 euros (see information leaflet Information Concerning Costs, Fees and Expenses).

When is the annual fee due? - An example:

The filing date of your patent is 15 June 2017. The first annual fee is due on 30 June 2019. If you have not paid the annual fee by 31 August 2019, a surcharge for late payment of 50 euros will be due. Then you will still have time until 31 December 2019, to pay the annual fee AND the surcharge. If you fail to pay within that last time limit or fail to pay in full, the patent will lapse.

If the annual fee is not paid at all, not paid on time or not paid in full, the application is deemed to be withdrawn or the patent lapses.

Advance payment of the annual fee may be made one year before expiry of the respective term of protection at the earliest.

For applications of addition/patents of addition no annual fees have to be paid.

In DPMAregister you will see when your patent is due for renewal. For patents which are still in force the next due date for fees is displayed in the list of master data, in the line “Due date”.

PCT fees - international phase

Information on the fees for the international patent application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is available here. More information on the PCT application is available here. Frequently asked questions on the fees for the international patent application under the PCT is available here.

PCT - fees from 1 January 2019

Filing option

Transmittalfee

International filing fee

Searchfee

Total amount

reduction factored in

paper

90 euros

1,169 euros

1,775 euros

3,034 euros

electronic(request in XML - description and claims: PDF/TIFF)

90 euros

993 euros

1,775 euros

2,858 euros

176 euros

electronic(request in XML - description and claims: XML)

90 euros

905 euros

1,775 euros

2,770 euros

264 euros

The 31st sheet and each additional sheet

13 euros

Payment period

The transmittal fee, the search fee and the international filing fee shall be paid within one month from the date of the receipt of the international application (Art. III Sec.1(3) Act on International Patent Conventions [Gesetz über internationale Patentübereinkommen], Rules 14.1(c), 15.4(a) and 16.1(f) PCT Regulations).

Other additional fees in relation to a PCT application at the DPMA

Service

Amount

Official production of the priority document (separate invoice will be issued) Payment indicating the national file number

20 euros

PCT fees - national phase

The respective applicable fees are determined according to the Patent Costs Act.

PCT fees - Entry into the national phase under at the DPMA

Type of fees

Amount

Filing fee for an application including up to ten patent claims (Fee number 311 150)

60 euros

Filing fee for an application including more than ten patent claims

60 euros

- for the eleventh and each further claim the fee is increased by (Fee number 311 160)

30 euros

Fee for examination request if an international search report has been established (Fee number 311 300)

150 euros

Fee for examination request if no international search report has been established (Fee number 311 400)

350 euros

Annual fee for the third year, pursuant to Section 17(1) Patent Act

70 euros

Notices

The purpose of payment, i.e. fee number (see above) and the complete file number (PCT), must be indicated when making the payment for national phase entry.

If you wish to renew protection of European patents (EP) in Germany (national phase), please always indicate the official German file number.

It is true that, for EP patents, as a rule, the indication of the European file number is equivalent to the indication of the German file number, but it means additional search work at payment transactions. The EP publication number should not be used, because it does not allow to run a plausibility check on the official file number.

The number of patent claims of the international applications as originally filed determines the amount of the filing fee.

If the filing fee is not paid or not paid in full within 30 months from the priority date, the international application will forfeit the effect of a national application in Germany.

Please note that no fee notifications/invitations to pay will be sent out. Processing of the examination request will not begin before the fee for the examination request has been paid.

European patent in the national phase

You wish to renew a European patent which is valid in the national phase in Germany? We have compiled a checklist for you indicating the things to be taken into consideration.